This invention relates to a management system. In particular, the invention is concerned with a system, apparatus and method for managing businesses, participants, directors and actions of a remote entity using a computer network. More particularly, the invention is directed to improving accountability in managing and operating enterprises.
Currently in the entertainment business of professional sports there are significant problems: players salaries in the big leagues have skyrocketed to the point where many teams have a hard time breaking even each year; cities that are considered small markets have a difficult time competing financially for good enough players to have a reasonable chance of making the playoffs in the big leagues; owners have no effective way to deter their players from behaving unprofessionally or even breaking the law routinely; and teams do not have sufficient loyalty to their city where they currently reside to cause them to plan on staying.
On Sep. 28, 1999, Canada's four Major League hockey teams announced that if they did not receive governmental assistance in one way or another, like many teams in the United States have with publicly financed for such things as stadiums, that they would have to sell their teams to the United States.
Star players contracts are written heavily in the players' favor and the stars are treated with immunity from the normal societal rules and the law that some players no longer find it important to follow the coaches directions or to act minimally professional. Many star players have little fear of hurting their livelihood if they publicly break the law by using drugs, abetting prostitution, and even physically striking or choking their head coach as occurred in the National Basketball Association. The young fans, children, rarely watch their favorite athletes behaving as decent role models, contributors to society, and upstanding law abiding citizens. Many of the teams and leagues do not enforce their own rules on morals clauses--players fail drug tests repeatedly with little significant deterrence. Star players often do not show up to work for practice as required by their high paying contract. Fans are often disgruntled about the lack of professionalism.
Much of this is caused by the players being unaccountable to the fans. In the past there has been no way for the fan to reward or punish the player, team or league directly other than to not watch a game. Currently, if a major league team with no leverage over its players does not punish its players for committing crimes or for not showing up to work on time then individual fans have no way to affect any real leverage of their own. Currently, National Football League teams owners and their management offices are so powerless with their players that they are hoping that the league's central organizing office under the NFL commissioner will fine the players to deter continued taunting with gestures of extreme violence, such as making a throat cutting gesture towards opposing players and opposing fans after a big play, as was reported in many newspapers on Nov. 23, 1999.
Similarly, team owners do not feel the leverage of individual fans in their big decisions. Cities are driven to making unwise financial decisions that give financial incentives to teams to dump their old city and move to theirs. Cities are often so desperate to get a team in their area that some teams sneak out in the middle of the night and leave for a different city. The city that was unceremoniously dumped may be stuck with the bill for a new stadium that it financed with the hope of encouraging the team not to leave their city. Many owners simply cannot afford the high salaries needed to compete successfully in some leagues, and the owners often do not have any hope of having leverage with a player over the life of the player's contract to induce the player to perform in a professional manner.
This invention is directed to a solution to allow the fan's input help solve the current problems with professional sports and thereby change the imbalance in leverage in the negotiations between the player and the team and between the city and the team.
With the use of this invention, players could make the same amounts of money, but it would be less likely that they would be able to just sign big guaranteed contracts with big signing bonuses and then never have to perform.
The invention seeks to overcome difficulties in the management and performance of entities which have previously operated without the normal controls and checks and balances that are required for the professional organization of a business with accountability.
The invention seeks to bring a greater degree of control and responsiveness between customers of an organization and the organization and members of the organization, by the members' employees, directors, shareholders or other supporters.
The invention is directed to the employment of a computer network for facilitating increased responsibility between two entities, essentially customers or consumers on the one hand, and the corporate or business entity on the other hand.